Collapsible merry-go-round



June v8, 1954 Filed July 12, 1950 HARRY woEcKNl-:R 2,680,61 7

ALSO KNOWN AS HARRY WECKNER COLLAPSIBLEl MERRY-GO-ROUND 2 Sheets-Sheet i IN VEN TOR.

A44/:Py Mack/vee AL O KNOWN AS s HARRY WECKNER ATTORNEY June 8, 1954 HARRY woEcKNER 2,680,517

ALso KNowN As HARRY wEcKNER r coLLAPsIBLE MERRY-Goaounn Filed July 12, 195o r 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 n INVENToR.

HARRY M/ofckA/Ee BY ALSO KNOWN AS HARRY wECKNER supported on a base.

in the frame members. two frame members which are identical to each handle by one of the riders.

Patented June 8,1954

COLLAPSIBLE MERRY-GO-ROUND Harry Wocclmer, also known as Harry Weckner, Akron, Ohio, assignor of one-half to Chris Miletti, Akron, and one-half to Peter Locke, Jr.,

New Milford, Ohio Application July 12, 1950, Serial No. 173,358

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a merry-go-round ride Y for children.

The ride includes a plurality of frame members rotatably mounted on an upright member The base is designed to rest flat against a iloor or a lawn or the like. Seats in which the children ride are provided Preferably there are other in size and shape and extend radially outward on opposite sides of the upright. If more than two members are employed they preferably are spaced apart at equal angles around the upright so that the weight of the riders is substantially balanced when the frames are rotated.

The frames may be rotated by a propelling device which, for example, includes a lever handle that is pivotally mounted on one of the frames and is connected to means adapted to frictionally engage the upright when pull is applied to the As the handle is pulled in one direction, the engaging means frictionally engages the upright and the reaction force on the frames due to the pull on the handle causes the frames to rotate around the upright.

The frames rotate in a direction opposite to the direction in which the lever is pulled. Rotating force is transmitted to the frame only when the handle is moved in one direction. After each power stroke the handle is swung back to its I original position and this resets the engaging means so that another power stroke can be made. With several strokes of the lever the frames acquire suflicient momentum to continue to rotate on the base for a considerable length of time.

A feature of the ride is in the fact that the frames are designed to be swung toward the upright when the ride is not in use so that the ride may be folded into a compact bundle which is easily carried in a car or the like. The ride may also be shipped more conveniently in its .folded position. For this purpose, one portion of each frame is pivotally connected to a collar rotatable about an upper end of the upright and another portion of each frame is pivotally connected to a collar rotatable about the lower end of the upright. As the frames are swung toward the upright one of these collars is adapted to slide along the upright toward the other collar 'until the frames are completely collapsed and the ride occupies very little space. ln the prelferred design the collar supporting the lower portions of the frames is adapted to slide upwardly toward the top of the upright Awhen the framesf" are folded. Legs which extend from the base to support the upright are detachably connected to the base so that they may be removed after the frames are folded against the upright.

The invention will be further described with reference to the drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the ride with the frame members in their unfolded position;

Figs. 2 and 3 are plan views of certain portions of the lstructure taken on the lines 2 2 and ii- 3,

respectively, of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the ride with the frame members unfolded;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed view oi a portion of the propelling device taken on line E-J of Fig. 4, shown partially in cross section;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the lever which operates the propelling device, taken on the line -S of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the ride showing the frame members in their folded position.

The base which supports the ride is formed with a flat plate I having a cylindrical block welded at the center of the plate. The lower end oi? a straight rod Il of circular cross section is fastened securely in the block 2 by a setscrew 5. A tube l, somewhat shorter than the length of one of the sides of plate I, is welded along each side of the plate. These tubes 'l are preferably located so that one end of each tube is adjacent a diierent corner of the plate in the manner shown in Fig. 2. The tubes I each serve as a socket to slidably receive the inner end of a leg 8. Each of these legs is a tubular member having its outer end 9 flattened. When the legs are located properly in their respective tubes 'l they extend horizontally outward from the base plate I in a swastika pattern, as shown in Fig. 2. These legs 3 are adapted to rest on a floor, lawn or the like and provide a very stable support for the upright 4.

Extending symmetrically outward from the upright at 180 apart are the tubular frames I2, each of. which is relatively heavy to withstand compression, and thus is adapted to support a rider. The frames I2 are of identical shape and y preferably each frame I2 is formed with one Y continuous tube.

screws. I6 to the opposite sides of a collar Il l sides and is of a thin gauge material.

which loosely surrounds the upright 4. The collar rotates around the upright when the ride is in use, and it slides freely up and down on the upright so that the frame members may be folded toward one another. The bottom of collar l'I rests on a thin bearing I3 which in turn rests on the top of the block 2. As shown in Fig. 1 the inwardly bent portions of the sides I4 of each frame adjacent the uprightll are horizontal. The sides I4 are also bent at 20 so that the frame slopes upwardly at about thirty degrees. Braces 2| hold the inner ends of the sides in position.

Each frame I2 is supported near its outer end by a horizontal light tension brace 23 which is preferably a dat bar. The inner end of each of the brace. 23 is pivotally fastened by a bolt 24 to an ear 25 which projects toward the frame from the side of a collar 26 which surrounds the upright l nea-r its upper end. This collar 26 lits loosely around the upright and is freely pivotal around the upright. It is supported on a stop 2S which is preferably a pin which extends diametrically through the upright ll.

As shown in Fig. 4 each brace 23 is bent outwardly from the ear 25 to which it is attached and then each is bent at 29 so that it extends toward the outer portion i3 of its respective frame l2. rhe outer end Sil of each brace 23 is pivot-ally fastened to the side lil adjacent it by a rivet 33.

spaced inwardly from the end I3 of each frame i 2 is a cross brace 35 extending between the sides I which supports the fabric 3b which forms a seat in which a child rides. The fabric 3S is preferably a heaw duck material and it is looped around the brace 35 and the end i3 of the meniber. he fabric drapes loosely between the end I3 and the brace B to forni a suitable seat. Another cross brace ST is provided below the seat which serves as a foot rest for the rider.

The ride may be collapsed to the position shown in Fig. 'l by merely swinging the frames I2 upwardly toward one another in the direction or" the arrows shown in Fig. 1. The frames I2 are pivoted around the screws it and the braces 23 are pivoted around the bolts 2li. En the preferred design, as the braces 23 are swung upwardly they lift the frames I 2 and the collar Iii slides upward on the upright l toward the upper collar 2S. a substantially fixed position. r:The legs S may be slid out of their respective tubes l after the p frame members l2 are folded.

The frames are rotated by the lever or handle at the top of the upright 4.

The unit dil closely resembles a band brake. A plan View is shown in Fig. 4, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail. It includes a cylindrical collar l2 which is fastened rigidly around the upright 3. The clevis 43 is provided with relatively wide The sides of the @levis fit across the upper and lower sur- .face of the collar 32 and each side loosely surrounds the upright i so that the clevis can be rotated on the collar 42 around the upright. The outer ends it of the legs of the clevis project a short distance beyond the cylindrical surface of the collar l2 and these legs' are sandwiched between the legs of a somewhat sinaller clevis 55. The clevis l is pivotally engaged with the ends Il of the legs 43 by a vertical bolt si. `One end 58 of a flexible steel band 5I is looped around bolt #il and fastened securely thereto between the legs of olevis 43. This band The upper collar 2E remains in l is somewhat narrower than the thickness of the collar 42 and fits through the space between the cylindrical surface of collar' 42 and the back of the clevis 43. It extends around the cylindrical surface of the collar 42 and its opposite end 53 is looped around and securely fastened to a vertical bolt 55 which extends between the legs of the clevis i5 near to the back of this clevis.

In order to maintain a certain amount of tension in the steel band 5! at all times a coil spring 5E is stretched between the back of clevis 43 and the outer end of a bar 5l which is fastened to the middle or the back oi clevis l5 and extends outwardly perpendicular to its legs. This spring exerts a pull on bar El which pivots the clevis 45 varound bolt Il? in a Idirection to tighten the band 5i around the cylindrical surface of the collar d?. and it also presses the band against the surface of the collar at 59 (Fig. 4). This spring is not sufficient to hold the band in tight frictional engagement with the surface of collar l2 but serves to hold the two clevises in a fixed relative position and the band under some tenion. During a power stroke of the handle 39 the band is drawn up tightly around the collar but when the handle is swung back on a reset stroke the tension is released so that the band 5l may be slid around the surface of the collar l2 as the clevises are swiveled to a different position on the collar. The *functions of the various portions of this unit will be more fully explained in connection with the operation of the device.

The handle -33 is preferably i'orined of a tubular member. The inner portion 62 of this handle is flattened as shown in Fig. 6, and, at the end of ce handle a socket SS is formed which extends downwardly perpendicular to the flat portion t2. The socket 63 is pivotally fitted over an upright post 65 which projects upwardly from a cross member 56 fastened between the braces 23 of one of the frames I2. The handle is connected to bar 5l' of the friction unit by an arm Si', one end of which is pivotally connected to the handle at t3 and the other end of which is pivotally connected to the bar 5T at 69. During a power stroke of the handle, pull applied on the handle is transmitted to the unit l5 by arm 61 to tighten the band 5I so that it frictionally engages the collar e2. The socket 53 is easily disengaged from the post E5 and the handle and arm El are swung to a position close to the unit it when the frames l2 are folded in the manner shown in Fig. 7. In this view the handle and arm El are located behind the friction unit 40 and cannot be seen.

The operation of the ride is clearly brought out in Fig. 4. The preferred device is designed so that the handle 33 is pulled in a clockwise direction, as indicated, in order to make a power stroke which causes the frames l2 to rotate about upright l. The reaction to this pulling force pivots the fra-mes I 2 in the counter-clockwise direction indicated. The handle swings in an arc around post 65 as the frames are rotated. The broken lines indicate the relative 'position of the handle and the frame when the frame has been rotated through an arc oi' about fortyfve degrees from the position in which it is shown in solid lines.

The riders sit in the seats 36 facing one another and the handle is operated by the rider closest to the handle. On a power stroke the force applied to the handle is transmitted through the arm 61 to the bar 57 on the small clevis 45. lBar 57 exerts leverage on the small clevis 45 and pivots the clevis forwardly about the bolt 4l thereby tightening the band 5i around the peripheral surface of the collar 42. The spring 56, as explained above, is not by itself strong enough to hold the band 5i in tight frictional engagement with the collar 42. The spring, however, does exert a sufficient amount of tension on the band to anchor the clevis 43 at a xed position on the collar 42 until the additional leverage applied by the bar 5l pivots the small clevis 43 a sufficient amount to draw the band 5i tightly around the collar 42. As long as the leverage is applied by the arm 57 in this manner, the band 5i grips the collar 42 so tightly that clevis 43 cannot be turned around the collar. The resuit is that bar 5l is held in a stationary position and a component of the pulling force applied to the handle tends to swing the arm 6l in a counterclockwise arc about the point 63. As the arm 6l is moved in this manner, it exerts a pull on the post 65 and consequently the frame is also rotated in a counter-clockwise direction.

As indicated in the drawings one end of the arm 61 is fastened to the lower portion of the flat surface of the handle. Therefore, when the handle has been swung to a position at the left of the rider operating it the arm 3l moves against the socket 63 and prevents the handle from being pivoted any further in the clockwise direction.

To reset the handle for another power stroke the rider pulls the handle in the reverse direction back to its original position. rIhis move ment of the handle releases the tension in the band 5l since the bar 51 can no longer maintain the necessary leverage on the clevis 45. As the handle is swung toward the riders right side the arm 6l pushes against the arm 5l. This relieves the tension in the band and the clevis 43 is swiveled around the collar 42 to a diiferent angular position. The complete reset position of the handle will be at the dead-center point of the linkage which is a position of the linkage where the post 65, upright 4 and the pivot 69 are in a straight line. Preferably the arm 6i is curved to permit the handle to be completely reset to this dead-center position.

After the reset stroke is completed, a new power stroke is begun by rotating the handle in a clockwise direction and tension is applied to the band 5l to tighten it around the collar 42 in the same f manner as was described above. At the end of each power stroke the handle is reset and another power stroke made. To summarize: On each power stroke the band 5i is tightened around the collar 42. On the reset stroke the tension in the band 5I is released and the clevis 43 is swiveled around the collar 42 to a different angular position where it remains until the power stroke is completed.

Once the frames have acquired sucient momentum, very short power strokes may be used to maintain a desired speed. The handle need not be moved through its fullest arc to keep the frames rotating around the upright 4. The preferred linkage is designed so that a relatively small pulling force applied to the handle is suincent to rotate the frames.

The ride may be designed so that the handle rotates the frames in the reverse direction to that shown. The ride is not limited to use with the particular type of friction unit shown. It is also evident that were the clevises of diierent sizes and, for example, the distances between the bolts 41 and 55 were changed, a slightly diierent movement of the parts would be accomplished. The ride may be designed with more than two frames I2. Other modifications may be made within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A collapsible merry-go-round ride which comprises a cylindrical upright, upper and lower collars rotatable about the upright, the lower collar being slidable on the upright, a nat bearing surface adjacent the base of the upright from which the upright rises perpendicularly and on which the lower collar is rotatable in its lowermost position, a plurality of frames relatively heavy to withstand compression pivotally mounted on the lower collar, a seat on each frame, and a plurality of light tension braces, each frame being pivotally connected to one end of one of said braces at a distance from said pivotal mounting on the collar which distance is greater than the length of the brace, the other end of each brace being pivotally connected to the upper collar, whereby the frames may be swung upright by sliding the lower collar away from the bearing surface.

2. The ride of claim l in which there are two frames with legs straddling the lower collar, means on each side of the lower collar pivotally fastening both legs to the collar, and removably attached to the upright below the bearing surface legs which extend outwardly from the upright substantially as far as the outer ends of the frames when the lower collar is resting on the bearing surface.

3. A collapsible merry-go-round ride which comprises a cylindrical upright, upper and lower collars rotatable about the upright, the lower collar being slidable on the upright, a iiat bearing surface from which the upright rises perpendicularly and on which the lower collar is rotatable in its lowermost position, a plurality of frames pivotally mounted on the lower collar, a seat on each frame, and a plurality of braces, each frame being pivotally connected to one end of one of said braces at a distance from said pivotal mounting on the collar which distance is greater than the length of the brace, the other end of each brace being pivotally connected to the upper collar, whereby the frames may be swung upright by sliding the lower collar away from the bearing surface, a handle pivotally mounted on one of the braces and contractible frictional gripping means about the upright with the handle connected thereto and adapted to contract the gripping means to grip means on the upright whereby the handle is used to rotate the frames about the upright.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 236,168 Lavigne Jan. 4, 1881 890,558 Dameron June 9, 1908 1,073,449 Tothill Sept. 16, 1913 1,588,941 Chapman June 15, 1926 1,865,612 Bustillos July 5, 1932 1,985,497 Harris Dec. 25, 1934 y 2,468,893 Orance May 3, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 327,360 Germany Oct. 9, 1920 

